PRESS RELEASE

Above: Health Department staff unload vehicle with bags of donated items
at past donation drive thru event.

Long Beach, CA – As part of the City of Long Beach’s ongoing commitment to support people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach, the City will continue to offer charitable giving opportunities for community members who wish to make a material difference in the lives of people experiencing homelessness. The City first launched its donation efforts in early 2023.

“We remain committed to help support our neighbors experiencing homelessness," said Mayor Rex Richardson. “But this work takes a village. The community stepped up by donating food, blankets, pet supplies and so much more over the past year. We’re going to continue to host donation drives on a quarterly basis and our donation drop off bins will remain available for folks to easily drop off donated items. Donating an essential item is an easy way to make a big difference in someone’s life.”

Donation Drive Thru Events
The Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) will host a donation drive thru on Saturday, March 9, 2024, to collect essential items to distribute to people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach. The drive will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Health Department’s Main Facilities Center (2525 Grand Ave.). Donations received will be distributed at the Multi-Service Center (MSC) and will also be available to local partner organizations to distribute.

For this quarter’s donation drive, the City kindly requests items from the following list:

• Hygiene kits or house-warming gift kits from the Multi-Service Center Amazon Wish List.
• Backpacks filled with items such as hand warmers, flashlights, battery packs, batteries (usually D batteries), emergency blankets and charging cables.
• Pet care kits with things like pet food, treats, collars, leashes, pet toys or collapsible pet bowls.
• S, M, L, XL or XXL sweatpants, shirts, socks and men’s and women’s underwear, beanies, scarves, caps, hoodies, towels or blankets. Gently used items are appreciated, too.
• Welcome home kits with some of the suggested items above and a special hand-written motivating message to go in the kit.
• Food items like canned food (and small, manual can openers), bottled drinks like juices or water, and snacks such as granola bars or power bars, instant oatmeal and instant soup.

While gift cards will not be accepted at the drive-thru event, they can be donated at the MSC. To schedule a drop-off time, people can call 562.570.4586.

Donation Drop-Off Bins
Donation drop off bins remain available at a variety of locations citywide and are a quick and easy way to donate essential physical items that can make an impact on someone’s daily life. Bins are located at all open Long Beach Public Library locations during regular business hours, as well as at the below locations:

• Boys and Girls Club of Long Beach (3635 Long Beach Blvd.), Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Scherer Park Community Center, (4654 Pasadena Ave.), Monday through Friday 3 to 6 p.m.

Requesting Donations
The City continues to provide local organizations that support people experiencing homelessness a portion of the donated items to help further their organization’s mission. Local organizations interested in receiving donations can request items online.

Since launching donation efforts in February 2023, the City has collected more than 35,000 donated items, 22,500 of which have been distributed to people experiencing homelessness and local organizations that provide services and support to people experiencing homelessness.   

People are encouraged to follow @lbhealthdept and @longbeachcity on social media and follow the hashtag #EveryoneHomeLB for more information on the City’s efforts to reduce homelessness in Long Beach.

The City does not represent or warrant that any donations made to the City are tax deductible. Donors are encouraged to work with their tax professional. Receipts of donations are available at all drop off locations.